I'm 12 years old and whilst I did hyperventilate during some of the scenes from paranoia it did have some major flaws. I simply don't understand how after the groundskeeper all oats gets killed, Bailee almost gets killed and Kim finding vital information that the Dad did not move out. I found myself hating him in the end. I believe they could've made this movie better if they gave the characters a more realistic approach to dealing with things. (Another example is when the child keeps talking, looking at and following the creatures. Any normal child would scream and run away.) I believe the actors/actresses were great it's just that the movie fell short and missed that needed realism.

For Don't be Afraid of the Dark, we get a horror story that is actually, one may not know this, a remake of a TV movie from the 1970's (!) This being about little demanoid creatures that terrorize and haunt a mother and her young child (Katie Holmes). All of this would've probably had more resonance and emotion if the director (or, hell, producer-writer-presenter del-Toro) gave more to care about with the parents and the kid. But it's a well-constructed haunted-house movie imbued with the unique creature fx that only comes from the guy behind Pan's Labyrinth. Also extra points for a surprising climax that didn't take the route I expected. For design, scares and surface thrills it's a must-see. If only there was something underneath.

'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark' has a lot going for it, as far as modern horror films go.(1) It has (almost) A-list actors associated with it, i.e. Guy Pearce, Katie Holmes in front of the camera and Guillermo del Toro behind it. (2) The little girl at the centre of the film is an incredible little actress who, based on her performance, will go a long way. (3) The monsters are indeed nasty and brought to life using decent computer effects. (4) The location, i.e. the big house, is a good, spooky setting for a supernatural horror. (5) There are even so 'jumpy' moments to rattle the popcorn out of your hand.Based on these points (and possibly because many of the posters advertising this film says things like 'The scariest film of the year') you may be thinking that it just might be. However, despite all the things Don't Be Afraid of the Dark has going for it, it has one major drawback - it's about a little girl who goes to live with her father and his new girlfriend in a big house. That's it. That's the problem. All the good elements are held together by a plot that we've basically seen a million times before in recent horror films. And, worst of all, it doesn't offer much that's new. The little girl's parents don't believe her. Therefore we're treated to them going through the disbelieving motions of slowly coming round to the fact that there's something supernatural going on.Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is not a bad film. Like I said, there are some genuinely spooky bits. However, overall there's nothing new here to rave about. If you like horror, you'll probably enjoy it - just don't go believing that it really IS the scariest film you'll see all year.

While the concept was alright, the crew producing the movie was excellent, the execution was horrible.The characters never use COMMON SENSE whatsoever. And I know many people lack it, but it gets way too ridiculous.That one part the girl caught one, no one mentioned that at all.There were too many parts that didn't add up to any realistic scenario and to me, that killed most of it's little contribution to horror films.The dad is a total moron.The people get "knocked up" and wake up coincidentally at specific moments, even if they get shaken up or stuff happens that should wake em up anyway.The critters are fun but I believe they're executed with a WANKERey attitude. These could be used much better than this crap.